Broken Hearts
by kitsune-breeze
Summary: Two hearts torn apart, comfort comes from unexpected places Narxkure
1. Chapter 1

Kishimoto owns the lot...I don't

Broken Hearts

Chapter One: Oppressed Hearts

The rain was falling heavily as she stood at the memorial stone staring at the names of those who had fallen for Kohona. Her heart was heavy with grief and the child in her arms only served to remind her  
of this. A child that would never see, feel neither the touch nor love of its father. "Asuma here is your son" she whispered to no one in particular. She broke down in tears as the rain fell heavier, it was almost as if Kami was trying to wash away her sorrows, but that was not to be. She felt totally alone and emotionally was a wreck although she hid it well from those around her, well everyone except Anko who could read her like a book. "Come Kurenai, let's get little Asuma into the warm" Anko gently stated as she place her hand on to Kurenai's brow wiping the tear soaked hair out of her eyes. Slowly she arose and walked slowly back towards the village.

Meanwhile a lone figure jumped out from the tree's and landed by the memorial stone his long blond hair covering his deep blue eyes. He knew only too well what it felt like to be alone and the trauma that came with it. Memories of his childhood came flooding back. Flashbacks which consisted of a childhood without the love of parents, a tear crept down his cheek. "You won't be alone Kurenai-san" he said almost inaudibly as he watched the figures of Kurenai and Anko disappear towards the village. He walked up to the memorial stone and ran his fingers across three names and came to rest on Asuma's. "Asuma-san, old man, don't worry their never be alone" he whispered as he ran a kunai across his hand and placed it on Asuma's name. He then stood and made his way to his estate.

Life had been hard for Kurenai since the death of Asuma; she had been unable to earn any money for the last year or so due to a number of factors which included complications during the latter half of her pregnancy and severe depression after the birth. Initially she couldn't face little Asuma, it was only because of the constant intervention of Shikamaru and more importantly Anko that she finally bonded with her son. Financially things were a lot tougher than she let on, rarely did she socialise anymore although when she did it was usually with Hinata or Anko. Shikamaru's visits became less frequent as he spent most of his time in Suna as he was Kohona's full time representative at the request of the Kazekage. Hinata was also becoming a less frequent visitor, as she had problems of her own. Hinata was no longer the heir to the clan, Hanabi had taken that position and to make matters worse she was in an arranged marriage to Kankurou the older brother of Gaara, which was arranged by the village council. She didn't love him; her heart now belonged to Kiba. The result of all these circumstances was that; no longer was her graceful presence seen around the village, all anyone would see would be a ghostly shell devoid of hope. Whatever happiness and joy that remained within her was bound up; in the memories that she held towards Asuma .She found little comfort in life except when in the presence of her child and Anko.

What Kurenai didn't know was that at the memorial stone she had started a chain of events which in time would begin to heal her heart and once again bring joy into the life of her and her son. The source of this joy would in time come from the most unlikely of places; a certain blond Namikaze.

Naruto arrived back at his estate which was moderate in size when compared to other clans, but due to him being alone it felt like the largest. That evening he lay awake on his futon and couldn't get the image of a broken Kurenai out of mind, to him it was so wrong that a woman such as her should be alone and in such a sad state. His mind wondered from her loneliness to his own. Sakura had publicly disowned him when he finally brought back Sasuke. Why? Well it didn't help that he used a rasenshuriken to finish the battle. It took two days to pick up the pieces to bring back to Kohona. The council weren't happy, Sakura was furious and implied that Naruto murdered her Sasuke-kun just to deny her true love. Since that day he knew that he would never hold a place in Sakura's heart no matter what and that day he knew that he'd be forever alone. The last shred of hope for a future with someone special was shredded. He himself rarely socialised, the pain of seeing Sakura and hearing her cutting remarks bore deeply into his heart. Among the rookies Sakura's behaviour was the exception, but unfortunately her words carried more weight to him. He still trained occasionally with Lee and would still meet Chougi for lunch once a week. Apart from these meetings he was a virtual recluse and this worried Tsunade and Shizune no end; both had made it clear to Sakura that her position was wrong. Unfortunately the problem with Hanuro's is that often the line between fiction and reality just doesn't exist; Sakura being an eternal fangirl was the typical example of this and couldn't accept that Sasuke was a traitor and that in all the time that she had known him, never had he paid any attention to her or any girl for that matter.

Naruto rarely slept anymore in his dreams he was tormented constantly by Kyuubi who showed him all times Sakura had put him down and the final rejection. When Kyuubi wasn't tormenting him, the dreams he had were empty, cold and oppressive. Kurenai's dreams were full of torment and pain also; they were filled with Asuma's body as it was brought through the gates of Kohona. She shouldn't have looked at his body, but she did and now it haunted her.The days that followed saw her spending a majority of her time talking to the memorial stone and crying at the grave of Asuma, Naruto still watched from a distance though he was going through an inner conflict regarding how he could approach her and if he did would she also reject him. Eventually he found the courage and stepped out from the treeline and cautiously approached Kurenai. When he reached her, she was on her knees, baby in her arms sobbing; instinctively he placed his hand gently on her shoulder to comfort her.

Kurenai felt the warmth of a hand upon her shoulder and her sobbing ebbed to a mere whimper she assumed that Anko had come to retrieve her, the silence that surrounded her was strangely reassuring. She slowly stood up and turnt around expecting to meet Anko's brown eyes, instead she met a pair of blue eyes. These blue eyes seemed to reflect the pain and suffering that she herself was feeling. At that moment words were not needed to convey any intentions they could see and feel each others despair. Strangely she felt comfort and solace in his company, she knew that he was a kindred spirit someone who at some level could understand her pain and loneliness. Little did they both know that this was to be the beginning of their emotional recovery and that they would both walk the road to recovery together.

Jutsu's

Rasenshuriken – wind release spiralling (basically a elementally infused resengan) S –Rank.

Well i thought i would give this a try.. i think that it's a bit different from the usual naru/kur fics and i have a good idea of where this is going...review and flame away ja ne Kitsune-breeze


	2. Chapter 2

Like I said before all rights go to kishimoto

Thank you to all of you who reviewed, you know who you are.

Sorry for the slight delay in this chappie, any enjoy

Broken hearts

Chapter two; Isolation

Since their initial encounter a couple of days before Kurenai and Naruto had not seen each other, both were caught in a dilemma of their own creation. Kurenai felt conflicting emotions of rage and a strange sense of comfort. Her rage was born of the perception that she was betraying Asuma and his memory; a part of her felt disgusted with herself for feeling that moment of understanding and comfort with Naruto, even though nothing was said or intention was apparent. A part of her wanted to spend more time in the company of this kindred spirit. Unfortunately at the present time rage and disgust were the more dominant and so she stayed within the confines of her home; she stopped visiting the memorial stone and his grave, she didn't know what she could say to Asuma to make up for this breach of trust. The reality of her situation was that she was more alone than ever, Anko had yet to return from her latest mission, so all she did was dwell and wallow in her misery.

Naruto had been a different case, daily he would go to the same spot in the trees that overlooked the memorial stone and just wait for her presence; just the sight of her was of bare comfort. However she never came, and he did what any person alone and depressed would do, he blamed himself. It was his fault, if only he had not approached her, she would still be visiting the stone and he would still see her, if only from a distance. Naruto felt that just seeing her from a distance was more than he deserved or could ever expect from any woman. He started to believe that isolation and pain would be his only companions in life. It felt to him that the even the air that he breathed was devoid of warmth.

In his desperation he would sit for hours on end in the trees in the vain hope of obtaining a glimpse of her, but that wasn't to be. Training the one thing that he could look forward to and thrive on, no longer held the appeal that it once did. The emptiness he felt could only be understood by another as devoid as himself and as such the resolution he sought was out of reach. Kurenai was being consumed by guilt and not having Anko around only served to add to her loneliness and emotional isolation. Little Asuma was as time passed becoming more of a reminder of her past; she would often sit alone in the lounge and just look into his eyes reminiscing on the good times that she spent with Asuma, but it also reminded her of her loss which felt so clear and fresh even though it had been over a year it seemed like just yesterday. The ache in her chest seemed like it would never cease and the darkness that came with it would only deepen compressing the atmosphere crushing what remained of her spirit.

Naruto and Kurenai spent the following week in conflict with their inner demons, neither gaining any ground. He still sat in the trees by the memorial stone lost in his own thoughts, when he sensed the presence of another. He looked up to see Anko, it seemed she had returned and had come in search of Kurenai. Anko had come straight from the Hokage's office expecting to see Kurenai at the stone, as it had become a ritual for her. She felt a deep sense of unease about the situation and extended her senses, finding a chakra signature close by, she shunshined over to the source. There she found a dishevelled blond with dull eyes fixed upon the stone. "Eh shit stain whatcha doing here?" she demanded, he looked over his expression never changing "just waiting " he replied almost inaudibly. This aroused her suspicion, but seeing as she was looking for Kurenai she filed it away for later when she had time. "Have you seen Kurenai" she asked in a gruff manner; which for Anko was bordering on polite. In an almost despondent tone he replied "She hasn't been here since you left". She took in the tone in which in spoke; but then what he said also soaked in; Anko quickly realised that something was wrong with Kurenai as she always without fail came to the stone. She took one last look at the dishevelled form of Naruto and took off at a sprint towards Kurenai's home.

Anko arrived at Kurenai's home feeling apprehensive; she knew of Kurenai's depression and hoped that she hadn't done anything foolish. She knocked furiously at the door and waited for a response; there was no response and the anxiety within her grew as did the fear of losing a friend. Anko pulled her foot back to kick the door in, when the door slowly opened, what greeted her was a home immersed in darkness. She stepped and walked over to open the curtains and was fully intending to give Kurenai a piece of mind for the worry that she had caused; but what was revealed put an end to that. To say that Kurenai looked a state would have been an understatement; Anko had not seen such a sight since immediately after the death of Asuma. Kurenai's dress was dirty and shredded, her hair was knotted and matted; Anko looked at Kurenai's face and saw that her skin was pale, the beautiful red eyes which were once full of life seemed to be dead to the world. This was a source of confusion for Anko as when she left for her last mission she clearly remembered that Kurenai was at least attempting to move on in some aspects of her life; and here was now apparently having given up. Anko was inwardly angry, wondering what had happened to have caused this, whilst thinking if it was a man then she would be inflicting some pain tonight.

Anko walked over to Kurenai and held her close to comfort and reassure her friend; upon feeling the comfort Kurenai broke down into tears and collapsed to the floor taking Anko with her. " what's the matter " Anko whispered gently into Kurenai's ear, desperately wondering what the problem was and more importantly who was the cause of the problem? Kurenai began to mumble almost incoherently in between the now muffled sobs; the only words that Anko could perceive were Asuma, betrayed, Naruto and memory. Instinctively Anko got up and said to Kurenai that she would be back shortly with that she flew out of the home. To say that Anko was pissed was an understatement, she took out a kunai and headed to where she last saw Naruto; she was going to get some answers.

A/N; Read and please review...it's good to know if the audience (you) are enjoying the story.


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